The Only Way
by always-a-hp-girl
Summary: Romione. Set in the tent, 7th year.


Ron woke up in the tent. His arm was burning. He looked up and saw Hermione sitting on the floor, her famous blue-flames ignited next to her. Predictably, she was reading. "Hermione.."

She jumped with a start. "Ronald!" she scolded him in whispers "You scared me!"

"Sorry," he whispered. "M-my arm hurts, do you have anything that could help?" he looked at her hopefully.

"Of course," she replied. She rummaged through her beaded bag and found Essance of Murlap. After soothing his arm for a while, he spoke again.

"What are you doing?"

"The usual - trying to figure out how we can destroy horcruxes."

"Speaking of which..." he replied. He walked to his nightstand, picked up the locket and put it on. "It's my turn" he grunted. Hermione sighed, as much as she hated to admit it, Ron couldn't handle the horcrux as well her and Harry could.

Ron sat on the edge of his bed, feeling quite fed up with how lumpy it was compared to the one he had at home. This annoyance had started almost instantly when the locket had touched his skin.

Hermione was desperately trying to find out how to get rid of horcruxes..so far, she was having no luck. She looked at her notes. All she had down was Basilisk venom, why didn't they just have access to the damn sword?

"Merlin." He muttered angrily, finding the slightest of sounds getting to him. "Do you really have to flip the pages like that?"

**You:** She tutted, but snapped her book shut. "Go to sleep Ron. Before you wake Harry." she snapped before climbing into her own bed.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He snapped right back at her. "Then you wouldn't have to put up with me anymore."

She tried to refrain herself, she really did. "What are you on about?" she whispered-barked

"Don't act like I can't see it." He hissed, "You two aren't exactly secretive about wishing it was just you here."

"I don't know what you're talking about" she muttered dismissively

"You can at least give me the curtesy of just admitting it already! I don't blame you. He IS the chosen one." The spite was clear in his voice, his innermost fears coming to surface with the help of the locket.

"And if you don't stop yelling you're going to wake the Chosen One up!" she hissed. "Look, I don't know were your deep-rooted insecurity comes from," that was a partial lie, "But I am telling you, you have nothing to be insecure about."

He just snorted at her response, feeling more and more embarrassed and in turn angry as it occurred to him that she didn't understand exactly what he meant. "Just admit it, Hermione!" He demanded. "Stop torturing me."

She raised her eyebrows. "Would that honestly make you feel better?"

He just rolled over in his bed, turning away from her. "So it's true then." He muttered darkly.

"I never said that" she replied quickly

"I'll leave as soon as I can apparate. Don't worry." He mumbled, almost too quietly to be heard. "Maybe then I can at least have something decent to eat."

She was angry now. "Fine." she snapped. "Get on my case over and over again.." she stopped herself. It's the horcrux, she reminded herself... he doesn't mean it...He folded his arms over his chest, even though he knew she couldn't really see him. He was too hurt to say anything more to this, and so he just muttered about the quality of her cooking under his breath. "And Ron..." she started slowly "I-I don't want you gone."

"You don't have to spare my feelings..." He returned, the locket having him convinced that there was no way that anyone could ever love him, especially with Harry around.

"I'm not" she whispered. "I know I get frustrated at you sometimes Ron, but...I'm-I'm really glad you're here." her cheeks were bright pink.

"Yeah right" There was a silence.

"Take the necklace off ron"

"No!"

"Do it. Dont argue."

"No Hermione no! It's a part of me now"

She was scared, was the necklace possessing him, the same way the diary possessed his sister? "Ron..?" He was very silent, as if he couldn't believe what he just said, either. "Ron?" She asked again.

"I need to take it off." He muttered. He tried to yank it off, but for a locket, it was putting up a fight. it weighed against his chest. "Hermione…" it almost sounded like he was gasping for air, she though - but then she realized - the locket was choking him! "Hermione…take….take it off me!"

"H-h-how?" she was emotionally choked up herself.

"S-s-severing charm."

"Don't be mad! I'm not going to sever your neck open!" She couldn't let him see she was crying. Quick Hermione, think! she told herself. How had Harry managed to defeat those horcruxes? Basilisk venom…she reminded herself. But no…that couldn't be only solution. After all, she wasn't intended to destroy the horcrux at the moment, she just needed to save Ron. She thought all the way back to her first year. Harry had defeated Voldemort for the second time, but it wasn't through a form of horcrux that he came back that time… even then, he was living through someone… all of a sudden it clicked.

"Ron! Ron. Ron. I love you." she said. The distant choking noises stopped.

"What?" he still sounded breathless, but he wasn't gagging for anymore.

She went over to his bunk. "Ron, I'm really happy that you're here. I couldn't do any of this without you." she smiled. "I would miss you terribly if you left. Even though Harry is the "chosen one" well … you're the one I chose."

The locket wasn't putting up much of a fight anymore. That was because, as Hermione had remembered, the one thing Voldemort couldn't understand was love. Especially a love as powerful as the love she felt for Ron.


End file.
